Relatives say Russian draftees being ‘deliberately exterminated’ in push to capture Avdiivka before Putin’s annual Q&A show

Relatives of mobilized soldiers serving in Russia’s Military Unit 95411 have written an appeal to Vladimir Putin alleging that the approach of the formation’s commanders amounts to the “deliberate extermination” of draftees near Avdiivka, the independent outlet iStories reported on Tuesday.

According to the letter, the soldiers have been living in trenches on the front line about 700 meters (less than half a mile) from Avdiivka for over 10 months and are constantly under fire. The men’s relatives allege that after Russia’s forces began actively advancing on the city, the unit’s command issued an order for soldiers with moderate injuries to be sent to assault divisions.

“On [November] 25, another directive was issued for those with light and moderate [injuries] to be treated in the trenches. They show no mercy to people from the [Donetsk People’s Republic]: they gather up the remains then it’s back into the storm. They hurry while the [Ukrainians] are in disarray, pushing to [achieve results] before [Vladimir Putin’s annual question-and-answer show] ‘Direct Line.’ They need some kind of result. Everyone around is saying that we’ll take Avdiivka and then we’ll have negotiations,” said the wife of one of the draftees.

She also quoted her husband as saying the men are “walking through corpses” and that “they’re just piled up.”

According to iStories, soldiers from Unit 95411 began serving as part of the territorial defense of the “Donetsk People’s Republic” in January 2023 but were later transferred to the command of the self-proclaimed republic’s 1st Army Corps. 

More than 100 people signed the letter to Putin.